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Raincoast Creative Salon is the online home for what I love: creativity, art, design, and travel. Take a look at my photography portfolio. I also share behind-the-scenes peeks of my creative side projects.

My blog has three categories: create, where I photograph, cook, make art and write about the creative process; travel is about my travels, both local and afar; and inspire - photographers, artists, & designers who inspire my work, and interviews with artists, photographers, & creative couples.

Once a year, every few months, whenever. Christie and I break the #1 rule of social media with our IG challenges - we aren't consistent. Oops. But we do them and we love them. And we've been doing them for a few years now.

Why do we do them? We challenge ourselves creatively. We get to know other creative types online. We get social. It's not just "look at me, look at me", it's also "look at you" and "look at us".

I love seeing all the variations on each prompt. Everyone is so creative and I find myself inspired and raring to go by the end of the challenge. (You'll see some weaving IG's - I'm practicing various stitches using the colour palettes of different Wes Anderson movies).

Eli Cash: I’m not in love with you any more.Margot: I didn’t think you ever were.Eli Cash: Let’s not make this harder than it already is.Margot: OK.Eli Cash: OK what?Margot: OK, I’m not in love with you any more either.Eli Cash: I know. You’re in love with Richie, which is sick and gross.Margot: Do you send my mother your clippings? And your grades in —-Eli Cash: Please stop belittling me. You never gave me the time of day until I started getting good reviews.Margot: The reviews aren’t that good.Eli Cash: But the sales are.

— Eli Cash and Margot Tenenbaum

And I did need that inspiration. I've been feeling a bit burnt out. Interacting with a group of fellow creatives was THE perfect antidote! They brought it ALL to the table in their own unique ways.

I’ll take the bottom bunk because I’m the oldest and my ankle’s fractured.

— Francis

I love creating within some sort of limits, whether it be materials or size or prompts. Whatever it is, having constraints increases my creative output. Some people are better at dealing with endless possibilities - me? I work better with something to bump up against. What can I do with only this or that or that other thing?

To be frank, I think his world had vanished long before he ever entered it. But I will say, he certainly sustained the illusion with a marvelous grace.

— Zero Moustafa

The most fun for this challenge was coming up with the characters within a short period of time and using whatever we could find around the house. Time became another constraint because we only had about 45 minutes on one Sunday to create all of the characters.

Sam: Why do you always use binoculars?Suzy: It helps me see things closer. Even if they’re not very far away. I pretend it’s my magic power.Sam: That sounds like poetry. Poems don’t always have to rhyme, you know. They’re just supposed to be creative.

— Sam & Suzy

We will definitely do more of these IG challenges. Christie and I love talking to everyone through the comments - it's the best part of social media for me. Just hanging out and creating and commenting. We hope you'll join us next time!

Nobody knows what’s going to happen. And then we film it. That’s the whole concept.

How I love instagram! And how I love even MORE collaborating with Christie of Bedsidesign on our every-once-in-a-while instagram projects. We're returning to a fave this time - another Wes Anderson themed weeklong project. We did it a year ago and we're doing it again.

You know how to do it, right? Each day for 7 days starting Monday, July 20th has a prompt. Take a photo inspired by that prompt and tag it with #foliophoto. Please post at the earliest at 6pm the previous evening. Miss a day? No worries - jump on in and continue.

We'll all look and gawk and like and comment and be inspired by each other's photos.

No product or self-promotion please - this is the place to connect and be inspired, not to sell. It's all about fun and community and creativity. I've met SO many talented people during the various instagram challenges that we've hosted.